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Fans of The Archers should prepare for a shock, says Vanessa Whitburnhttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/dec/13/vanessa-whitburn-the-archers-interview
The editor of the popular Radio 4 series says 60th anniversary episode 'will shake Ambridge to the core'<p>Vanessa Whitburn has lost her cheese. And as she is the editor of The Archers, the rural radio soap loved by much of middle-class middle Britain, we are talking award-winning artisan cheese. She bought it at the Good Food Show at Birmingham's NEC, where she is attending the BBC Food and Farming Awards, but now, as we meet there to talk about <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/the-archers/" title="the impending 60th anniversary of The Archers,">the impending 60th anniversary of The Archers,</a> the cheddar is nowhere to be seen. &quot;I think I left it in the loo,&quot; she says, hurrying off to retrieve it.</p><p>It's not the introduction I'd expected. Whitburn, who will celebrate 20 years as editor next year, has a rather fearsome image, reflected in press cuttings and comments I've heard from those who have met her (&quot;formidable&quot;, &quot;terrifying&quot;). She has also taken a battering over the years from some of her listeners, both on the programme's website – which features a Who's Afraid of Vanessa Whitburn? parody penned by a listener – and on her regular appearances on Radio 4's Feedback. But instead of the imperious prima donna I'd envisioned, I meet a smiley 58-year-old woman thrilled to have just met Raymond Blanc (&quot;he's a hero of mine&quot;) and fretting about her fromage.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/dec/13/vanessa-whitburn-the-archers-interview">Continue reading...</a>Radio 4BBCRadio industryMediaThe ArchersRadioCultureMon, 13 Dec 2010 07:03:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/dec/13/vanessa-whitburn-the-archers-interviewAndrew Fox/GuardianVanessa Whitburn, editor of The Archers, in the BBC 's recording studio in Birmingham. Photograph: Andrew Fox for the GuardianAndrew Fox/GuardianVanessa Whitburn, editor of The Archers, in the BBC 's recording studio in Birmingham. Photograph: Andrew Fox for the GuardianElisabeth Mahoney2010-12-13T07:03:00Z